The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 23

SECTION 2he(5rcmpilleNciw5 Sunday October 8, 1995 Baseball 7C Outdoors 16C Dan Foster Birs sfiUflllg GDDH McGriff Grissom help Atlanta finish off Rockies i A J' games to one in their best-of-five NL Division al Playoff Senes. Atlanta advances to play their former NL West rivals, the Cincinnati Reds. The series starts Tuesday, with Games one, two, six and seven scheduled in Cincinnati and Games three, four and five in Atlanta. The Braves will be without the services of ace Greg Maddux for Tuesday's first game, when left-hander Tom Glavine is expected to start. Maddux was forced into his second start of the divisional series Saturday.

He fell behind 3-0 on Dante Bichette's third-inning homer, but benefited from forgiving teammates. The Braves expect to face Reds left-handers Pete Schourek, John Smiley and David Wells. Atlanta escaped Saturday by scoring all of its runs over a four-inning stretch beginning in See BRAVES on page 7C INSIDE Notes, box score 7C By Tim Luke Atlanta Bureau ATLANTA Just when the Atlanta Braves' postseason became dicey, Fred McGriff and Marquis Grissom thought it a perfect time for High Fives. Grissom went 5-for-5 at the plate and McGriff erupted for five runs batted in with home runs on two consecutive at-bats and hits on three consecutive. The Atlanta Braves on Saturday finally tapped the Rockies, 10-4, clinching their fourth straight berth in the National League Championship Series.

They finally hushed the pesky Colorado Rockies three Two 'reserves' take charge to deliver TANNEN MAURYThe Associated Press Crime Dog connects: Fred McGriff (left) is congratulated by Chipper Jones after McGriff hit the first of his two homers. The Braves' first home game is Friday in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, which had a paid attendance of 50,079 Saturday but included several empty upper-deck sections. i VJICUltilCl 111 i Clock runs ou on Clemson J' SATURDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS i 3 h. f'(9 'V i ft! Georgia's fourth tailback, third QB spell doom for Tigers By Tom Layton Staff Writer CLEMSON Clemson's turn-back-the-clock party Saturday night was upstaged Saturday night by tM 'Vv' 10 I 1 Georgia turn-coat Gamecock. Torin Kirt-sey, who was GLEMSON Maybe Georgia's Torin Kirksey and Brian Smith were tired of hearing that the Bulldogs' football season was doomed after the two key injuries.

The offensive hopes for their team originally were said to ride on the legs of running back Robert Edwards and the arm of quarterback Mike Bobo. When injury felled both of those stars early in the season, some Georgia hopes fell too. The ultimate embarrassment forihe Georgia offense was getting shut put by Alabama, 31-0, just "one week before the Bulldogs cametoClemson. By the time they came into a packed Clemson Memorial Stadium; they were six-point underdogs, projected to suffer their third straight loss, and to see their season record fall to 2-4. But here, right on the evening Clemson had picked to honor its great team of 1939 and its 100th season of football, Kirksey and Smith made the survivors from that Cotton Bowl team very sad.

Kirksey, a freshman, gained 195 yards running the ball. Ed- wards, with his broken ankle, had to be proud of him. And Bobo had to feel proud that his understudy, Smith, completed 13 passes for 156 yards. It was the first time either Kirksey or Smith had started a college game. With their leadership, Georgia was able to convert 407 yards of I total offense into a 19-17 victory over Clemson in the final game i the teams are ever scheduled to play.

West 'crushed' I Clemson coach Tommy West said afterwards, "We are crushed i that we lost the football game, but I was extremely proud of the effort. I thought we fought hard enough and we played hard i enough to win, but I give Georgia credit, they did what they had to do to win." i West was proud of the crowd of 83,500 that had many standing throughout the game, and said the hard fought battle represent-I ed what a hundred years of Clem See FOSTER on page 7C i 'V .) verbally committed to South Carolina before signing last February with Georgia, rushed 38 times for 195 yards as Georgia beat Clemson 19-17 Saturday night before a crowd of 83,500 at Death Valley. Kirtsey's get-aways were accented by the clutch passes of another South Carolinian who got away, quarterback Brian Smith of Spartanburg. And the inspired performances of Georgia's fourth tailback and third quarterback inspired these words from Georgia coach Ray Goff: "I'm as proud of this football team tonight as I have been of any football team that I have ever been associated Kirtsey's runs were mostly misdirection plays which echoed those of Warrick Dunn in his 180-yard game for Florida State here four weeks ago, and represented the most rushing yardage against Clemson in 11 years. "We were over-flowing, and he'd find a hole to the back side," said Clemson safety Brian Dawkins.

"He See CLEMSON on page 7C TIM SHARPThe Associated Press Grambling State's Eddie Robinson, above, claims his 400th college football victory. Page 5C. In the ACC, North Carolina ends ninth-ranked Virginia's five-game winning streak; No. 3 Florida downs No. 21 LSU to remain the only unbeaten team in the SEC.

Page 2C. No. 24 Kansas upsets No. 4 Colorado; Eddie George's late touchdown run lifts No. 5 Ohio State over No.

12 Penn State; No. 25 Northwestern hands No. 7 Michigan its first loss with its first victory over the Wolverines in 30 years. Page 5C. BART BOATWRIGHTStafl Little room here: Clemson 's Raymond Priester is brought down by Georgia linebacker Greg Bright.

ASU's early blitz buries Furman Gamecocks make it look easy, roll past Kent hadn't allowed more than 52 points since an By Abe Hardesty Staff Writer I Going into Saturday's game against unbeaten Appalachian State, Furman's hope was for a fourth consecutive quality performance that would make the Paladins for 82-0 loss to Slippery Rock in 1923. "Every time we went out on the field, they scored," Kent mm i get the mistakes ot those tirst two games. Instead, Bobby Johnson's team revisited them. In much the same fashion that it began this season, By RickScoppe Staff Writer COLUMBIA It was spring in October for South Carolina. In what looked more like spring practice game than a Division I-A football contest, Carolina demolished Kent 77-14 Saturday before a homecoming crowd of 66,807.

The 77 points are a modern record for USC (2-3-1), surpassing the 73-0 win over Wichita State in 1980 but short of the 89 points scored in 1903 against Welsh Neck. It also was the third-most points ever given up by the Golden Flashes (1-4-1), who coach Jim Corrigall said, "That's not good." From the start, USC was on top of its game, easing fears coach Brad Scott had of a letdown in a game that had as its book ends last week's 20-20 tie with LSU and next week's trip to Mississippi State. "We kind of set a standard last week. And now was that for real, or were we going to See VSC on page jLLjllllljjllJlJ llljUlliftilVMIiihiiMli fl rtlT 'i Furman was smothered by an early wave of sacks and turnovers. The Paladins fell, 41-28, as blitz-happy Appalachian State protected its No.

2 ranking among the nation's I-AA powers by sacking Furman quarterbacks 1 1 times. "We dug ourselves a grave there in the first quarter," ALAN HAWESStafl Loose ball: USC's Maynard Caldwell (89) can 't prevent Kent quarterback Todd Goebbel from recovering fumble. See FURMAN on page 4C GAME DAY PREVIEW: PANTHERS VS. BEARS AUTO RACING Rudd leads charge Ricky Rudd, right in photo, is sitting on the pole for Sunday's race in Charlotte. Page 13C College football 2-6C Baseball 7C High schools 14C Community 15C Outdoors 16C Bulletin Board 17C PanthersPlus pullout Capers continues to tinker with lineup.

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